FIRST impression was in 1972, passing thru' on the way to Singapore via Tokyo. Had been told to not check baggage all the way ... so there we (colleague & I) were retrieving baggage from an open air carousel at Honolulu (where I thrust postcards and $ into someone's hands and asked them to mail them - she did) after our non-stop from Dallas on Braniff's only 747 and then, due to our connection, being escorted (rushed) across the tarmac itself to our connecting flight by someone very pleasant.
Twenty-eight years later finally got to go as a tourist and have been hooked ever since :)

Thank God, we are so lucky Hawaii is part of the United States of America. That post about the fellow returning from 'Nam to Pearl Harbor brought tears to my eyes.

I've had a lot of Fun with this thread. Thanks to all of you for sharing your memeories with us... I've just got 6 more day's to go, and I will be leaving for my 10th trip to Hawaii. I'll come home with a LONG, and detailed trip report, I promise!
Lori

December 1954, walked off a Pan American flight onto the tarmac in my new dress, high heels, and stockings and into the arms of my young husband whom I hadn't seen for the year he had been stationed in Korea. I do vaguely remember the beautiful scenery, too.

carolyn,
What a Beautiful memory. I'm all teary eyed Again!
Lori

Carolyn - That was nice.

And thank you to those who mentioned my earlier post in this thread 'returning to Pearl Harbor from a long deployment'.

There are thousands uniformed men and women throughout the country that are currently being deployed or returning from a long deployment.

If any of them are your family members or are your friends, give them a good send off and greet them upon their return.

And on this coming Memorial Day remember those Veterans that are no longer with us.

Dusty, that was a good comment. Yes, lets remember all our heros, as they are one way or another, this Memorial Day.

Hawaii is special to our family, from my late BIL and SIL who were at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th, to every other relative who went from and returned to Hawaii during our wars.

Carolyn, your post brought tears to my eyes also. Thank you for sharing your precious memory with us.

Perhaps this is why Hawaii is so special to me, besides the beauty of the islands, the people, the ocean breeezes, the lush greenery etc. And although the island of Hawaii have certainly changed over the year the history is precious.

LoveItaly:
Very nicely said. Thank You, for your thoughts.
Lori

My first impression of Hawaii: Romantic! It was our 25th wedding anniversary dream trip and it did not disappoint! The sight of the blue ocean and the Arizona Memorial from the plane plus the smell of the flowers that hit us in the airport was a great start. But when we got to our room and went out onto the balcony to enjoy the ocean view, I literally cried from joy! I'd never seen anything as beautiful except in pictures. Everyone was SO friendly! We've been back again 2 times and are going for our 4th trip there in June!!

I love this thread!

I was 13 in the early 70's. I thought Hawaii was for only "old people" and "touristy" so when my dad made plans, I wasn't too excited to leave my friends at home.
We flew to Oahu and my first impression was definitely how wonderful it smelled. We stayed at the military barracks on Waikiki where the walls were paper thin and my sister and I had our own room. We were in paradise. The barracks I have heard are gone now, replaced by a luxury hotel, but the little shacks left irreplaceable memories.

Other memories: The taste of the pineapple in Hawaii (unbelievable), driving around the island in our convertable Mustang and making our dad put the top up because our hair was getting messed up (he was so disappointed), the rain showers which lasted only long enough to cool us off while sunbathing (bliss), the sunburns and peeling and buying the grass matts and the lava God in the International Marketplace. I am going back for the first ime since 1971 this October. I hope it hasn't changed too much!

Bump Up!

What a great thread!! It makes you feel like you are there...and some of these have put a lump in my throat.

My first memory was during a family trip in July 2003. I expected swaying palms and lush green areas. We stepped of the plane and i thought, "this is it?". It looked so dry and plain. The airport was a little outdated and there was no green or beach in site. Little did we know what was ahead. After our drive to Kaanapali around those beautiful oceanside curves we knew we were in for a great trip. When you actually see the ocean for the first time it will take your breath away. We had an amazing time. We loved our room, grounds and employees of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. To me, that place is "hawaii". We were thinking at that time that this would be a "once in a lifetime opportunity". Who were we kidding? It gets in your blood and becomes a part of your every fiber. We went back 18 months later with a different set of family in tow. They too became infected with the Hawaii fever and we are planning our return next March. It is truly an amazing place...

My husband bought me a couple pieces of jewelry and some "maui rain" perfume while there. It is funny how wonderful those make me feel. Anytime i wear the jewelry or perfume it takes me back to that wonderful trip.

First impression on first trip (1990) was less than positive, since we were completely new to Hawaii and had no idea what we were doing. The first thing I remember is deplaning in Honolulu and having the humidity hit me like a brick wall. We got our rental car, waded through terrible traffic, checked into our hotel, went up to the room and were greeted by a 10' x 8' box (I'm not kidding -- there wasn't even enough room to walk around the bed to the "bathroom"). Horrified, we first spoke with the front desk (who was no help whatsoever) and then with our travel agent, who got us transferred to another hotel -- and a room that was 11' x 8'.

The rest of the trip was ok, especially the north and east shores of Oahu which we loved.

Before going back to Hawaii we made sure we did lots of homework.

I'm jst back (yesterday) from my 10th trip to Hawaii, and 7th to Maui. I love it as much as I did on the first experience there. You are so right, it gets in your blood.
We visited Makawao for the first time this trip, and fell in love with it's little town charm. I'm coming to love the Upcountry more, and more...
Enjoy.
Lori

Rainbows!
Beautiful sunsets that sizzle into
Heavenly tropical smells
We took my children and my parents a few years ago before my Dad got sick. He always said he wanted us to leave him there to live out his remaining years. He has since passed and I like to think that he is there now in paradise.

We flew into Lihue, and I was so excited b/c I have wanted to visit Kauai for the longest time. Kauai has such dramatic scenery.

To be a downer, my first impression of Maui was disappointing. It was cloudy when we flew from Lihue to OGG, so we didn't see much from the air. We got into our shuttle, left the airport, and the first thing I saw when I looked up was...a Starbucks! Then a Borders, then another strip mall! This is not how I pictured Hawaii!! Where where the palm trees? The lush greenery? Further into our trip, we saw the deep green along the Road to Hana, and the pretty beach at Makena. But it took us a while to discover the special places.

For manyyears as my Husband suggested Hawaii, i bauked saying " We have been to Florida and the Bahamas, how can it be so different. Ocean, sky, palm trees? Then finally we went. If I ever doubted that there was a God, Hawaii was evidence for me that he exsists. Who else could have created such incredable beauty? This will be our thrid trip! :-)

Our first trip to Hawaii was in September 2004 when we got married on the island of Oahu. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The lodging was nice, but we didn't feel like it what Hawaii should be like. It was almost with reluctance that we returned in Feb of 2004, this time to Kauai. And finally we found the tropical place that was in our thoughts for so many years. It was such a delight! We are contemplating a return trip to Hawaii for February 2006, maybe to Maui. But now we've been spoiled. I'm afraid that we will find it too plugged in with the rest of the world. Possibly we'll do a week in Maui and then break our own rules and return to someplace a second time -and experience another unforgettable trip on Kauai.

WoW,

I've been away, (Maui) and I'm surprised to see this still on the board.
Thanks all.

This thread keeps popping up, something about the topic won't let it die! Same with me, Hawaii has been unforgettable right from the first visit, which for me was 1980. As a first impression I remember the open air atmosphere of the airport, and the moist, tropical smells and plants.... and the cute local girl slipping that lei over my head. Had a great time, and knew I'd be back. The next visit was 1989 with my wife, about 6 months after we were married (we honeymooned in the Canadian Rockies, but Hawaii was right at the top of the list for a must-do trip.) We came in at night, the Saturday before Easter, and drove up to Turtle Bay Resort (Hilton, then). It rained the whole way up there, and was windy, about as awful as it gets in Hawaii. My wife's first visit to the islands, and she didn't say anything, but I bet she wondered what she was in for..... In the lobby, we saw where they had an Easter sunrise service out on the lawn, the next morning, and we decided to go for it. It started early enough that it was dark outside, so you couldn't see the ocean, but the morning was incredible, and the temperature perfect. A gorgeous sunrise, revealed big waves rolling in, with the breeze blowing spray off the tops of them, and we found ourselves in a luscious green and flowered paradise, with the blue Pacific all around us. It was pretty hard to not "get religion" in that setting! It must have been a great “indoctrination” for us, as we have been back another three times since then. We just returned in April, from Maui and Kauai, and after a little side-trip to Molokai this time, have now made it to 6 of the islands. Will we return……….? How could we not?!